THE LAST BALLOON WAS BLOWN UP.
My mouth tingled after spending an hour blowing air into every single one in the packet. Even my eyes began to water up from the force it took. Despite asking my parents for some help, I was left all alone to finish the small touch-ups before Milo and Louella arrived.
The room looked ready – with glittery string wonkily hung up on the door and walls and random, printed out photos of us plastered up. In the middle of the room, I managed to drag the table there and tried to arrange the platters of ordered food to look as appetizing as I could. It was a half-ditch effort but then again, I didn't have a whole lot of time to prepare. Milo's presents were shoved under the table; wrapped and ready to be opened. I wasn't the best at knowing what to buy people and so I knew he would probably dislike the gifts – but wouldn't say anything to my face about it. Either way, I didn't care too much because last year for my birthday he bought me a box of socks so I didn't think the bar could go much lower for either of us.
"Is everything set up?"
My mother's voice called out behind me and I flopped back onto the couch and wiped the imaginary beads of sweat away.
"Yeah."
My mother looked like the typical posh ladies that were always on television. Never was there a day where she wasn't dolled-up with her best outfits and hair slicked back into a tight bun. She looked a lot younger than she was, but I wondered if it was mainly due to the botox she had started getting over the past few years. It was scary how little she moved her face sometimes, but on the other hand, I had also gotten used to the eeriness of it.
"What time are they coming?" she asked as she strutted inside with her heels clicking against the wooden floors.
"They should be here in the next few minutes," I said and glanced down at my watch. Even though it was Milo's birthday, I couldn't lie and say I wasn't more excited to see Louella again.
"Your father and I will be in the study room, so if you need anything just give us a shout, okay?" she hummed with her hand on the door-handle, "We'll leave you all to it but tell Milo I wish him a happy birthday."
"Will do," I sighed in response.
Time ticked by ever so slowly while I waited for my two best friends to arrive. As soon as I heard the sound of car tires pull into our driveway, I leapt off the couch and all-but ran over to the front door – excited to see my friends again. Peeking out the window, my smile dimmed an inch when I saw Milo slam his car door shut but I pulled the door open, ready to greet my friend.
"Milo!" I cheered and flashed him a warm smile when he neared.
He was dressed in a tight-fitting black shirt and jeans that showed off his bulking figure. His hair was more natural today instead of jelled back and small waves ran through the short strands as they fell over his green eyes.
"Ét," he greeted and pulled me into a quick hug, "How have you been? Everything go alright yesterday?"
"I guess?" I gave him a half-shrug, "I'm not sure."
His face fell into a carefully constructed frown and he kicked the door shut behind him with the heel of his foot. We both shuffled our way inside and he choked back a laugh at the poorly decorated room but shot me a grateful look anyway. Settling on the couch, he crossed his legs and faced me with an invasive stare.
"Did something happen?"
"I don't even know," I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, "She just didn't seem like her usual self."
Last night, I decided to try and text her – starting off with the small get-together we were having today with Milo but after getting left on read multiple times, I stopped bombarding her with texts and decided to leave her be. Even if I was extremely worried, I didn't want to come across as over-bearing. I just wanted my best friend to be okay.
"I'm telling you – it's friend drama or something," he rolled his eyes, "She's been like this for months. I'm surprised you even met her – she wouldn't let me in the door."
"Wait, really?" I blinked in confusion.
Before leaving, Milo and Louella hadn't been the closest but they were still good friends and met with each other every day. It baffled me why it seemed she had cut Milo completely off – although it felt as though she was doing the same to me.
"Yeah, man. I'm telling you – she went off the rails this year. No-one's even seen her leave the house except for when she goes shopping with her mom."
Louella was like the female version of Milo – only a little more subdued. Out of the three of us, I was more of the introvert who preferred to stay at home and not do anything. So, to hear that she never or seldom left the house was surprising but worrying.
"Have you tried talking to her?" I asked.
Milo shook his head and rested it against the back of the couch, "Nah. This will be the first time I've seen her in months. She doesn't reply to my messages either. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Break her door down and demand she talk to me?"
I scratched at the back of my neck and blanked out for a moment. Louella would be here any moment but I wondered if she was going to end up cancelling on us. There was no sign of her coming and she wasn't usually the kind of person who turned up late to meet-ups.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see if she shows. I'll send her a text later though, anyway," I sighed and clasped my hands together, "So, how about you open some of your presents?"
Milo's face lit up and he straightened up his position on the couch. Rolling my eyes at his enthusiasm which would soon be dimmed when he opened everything up, I leaned under the table and dragged out the few wrapped gifts and handed them to him.
"Here you go," I smiled, "Happy birthday, bro. You're getting old now."
"Yeah, yeah," he snarked, "I get it – I'll have grey hair and wrinkles soon."
A breathy chuckle exhaled past my lips and I shook my head with a smile, "Well, you said it not me."
I watched as he tore off the wrapping paper and underneath lay the few gifts I had brought back from France. A surprised expression lit up his face and he turned to stare at me – stunned.
"What the hell, Étienne?"
In his hands was a record player he had been complaining about for months on the phone that he wanted to buy but couldn't afford with the expenses of his apartment and rent. It was shiny red in colour and was lined with a smooth silver. With built-in speakers and a headphone output, Milo blinked in surprise at the gift. While I didn't like receiving presents myself, I loved getting them for others and I felt giddy with how much he seemed to be in awe. I didn't blame him – I was going to settle for a bag of socks but changed my mind soon after.
"You've been talking about how much you wanted one," I shrugged, "I got you a few vinyl's too, so you can play whatever songs you want."
"How much did this cost?" he winced and looked almost too afraid to touch it, "I know it wasn't cheap."
"Don't worry about it," I reached over to pat his shoulder, "It's your twenty-third. Stop being a downer and accept the gift."
Milo looked down at the player in his arms before glancing back at me and his face broke out into a bright beam.
"Thanks, Ét. You're the best, you know that?"
"I know," I grinned, "Now come on, the food is the best part. You get the Netflix set up while I plate this up."
***
Milo and I slumped on the floor.
Our stomachs were bursting out with all the food we had eaten – from pizza slices, to chips, to onion rings, ice-cream scoops and garlic bread, we were going to be full for the next week. I groaned at the uncomfortable feeling and any pressure against my stomach felt like it would make it pop.
"I think we ate too much," I said with a wince, "I feel like I'm going to puke."
"You think?" Milo rolled his eyes and shuffled into a sitting position with a huff.
After spending an hour pigging out on all the food and watching The Witcher, Milo and I were drained of energy. It was a tradition we had started a while ago, although it used to be the three of us. Every Friday night, we would gather at either Milo's or Lou's and just spend hours in the company of each other, watching random shows and movies until we passed out from tiredness.
"Louella's still a no show?" Milo hummed as he looked out the window. Gone was the mild sun from earlier replaced with the thundering sound of the rain pelting down on the windows. Howling gusts of wind wracked the trees surround the house and I winced when it bashed against the windows as if trying to make its way inside.
"No," I sighed and peeked down at my phone to look at the text I had sent her earlier.
18:29 ÉTIENNE: lou? you there?
"She's not coming then," Milo shrugged carelessly, "Thought she'd show face for my birthday but apparently not."
There was an underlying snark in Milo's voice and for some reason, it didn't sit right with me. Ever since yesterday, he had been brushing off all of my comments to do with Louella and it confused and irritated me that he was. She wasn't just my best friend, she was his as well so the lack of concern triggered a small bell in my head.
"Cut her some slack," I defended her, "We don't know what's going on."
"It's Louella," Milo faced me with a deadpanned look, "What could possibly happen to her? If she can send me flying to the ground with one punch, she can take on anything."
Even though what he was saying was true, it didn't mean that nothing was wrong. Sure, Louella was a physically strong girl and with her father teaching her how to fight from a young age, she could pack a punch harder than the two of us.
"I'm just saying, okay?" I raised my hands in defeat, "I'm worried about her, that's all."
"Don't be man," Milo nestled his hand behind his head and leaned back against the couch as we sat on the floor cross-legged. His eyes flickered close for a brief moment, "She'll be fine."
And as if she heard us talking about her, the doorbell then rang. Milo's eyes shot open and we both shared knowing looks before staggering to our feet. My heart thundered in my chest and I all-but ran over to the front entrance and saw the small outline of Louella – hands in the air to cover her from the peltering rain and wind. Cursing under my breath, I quickly unlatched the lock and whipped it open – dragging her in before she could even blink.
Her hair was already drenched from the rain and it hung in long ringlets down her back – dripping on to the floor. She wore a loose-fitting top that covered every inch of her skin, even pulling high up on her neck. In her hand, she clutched a bag so tightly, her knuckles turned white. For the first time, Louella looked nervous. Her eyes flickered from left to right, never stopping on one place before they jumped to another. I smiled when the necklace I gifted her yesterday hung down her top but it quickly dimmed when I took in her sullen expression.
"You made it," I said with a soft beam.
"Mhm. Sorry for being late," she replied in a mere whisper of a voice, "A few things came up that I had to deal with."
"It's okay," I shrugged and looked over my shoulder to see Milo standing there silently. I glanced between the two, before clearing my throat and he blinked then, forcing himself back to reality.
"Right, Lou," he gestured to her with expressive hand motions, "Long time no see. How you been?"
He moved forward with open arms to engulf her in a hug but I didn't miss the way she winced and almost didn't seem to want to when she shuffled back an inch. In a split-second decision, I coughed loudly and pretty much threw myself in front of Milo just as he was about to wrap his arms around her and offered him an apologetic gaze when he shot me an incredulous stare.
"Sorry," I banged on my chest and pretended to keep coughing, "I think something went down the wrong way. Can you get me a glass of water or something?"
Milo blinked, confused but nodded without complaint and left – but not before sharing one last gaze with Louella. She stood behind me with her hands crossed behind her back and was peering up at me with an expression I couldn't decipher.
"We had some pizza earlier and I think it got stuck," I explained awkwardly when she didn't speak.
"Right," she murmured and it was clear she didn't believe me obvious lie. Even still, I stifled my laugh behind my hand when Milo made his way back over to us with a clear glass of water in his hand.
"Here," he said while pushing it towards me, "You good?"
"Yeah, yeah," I tried to make my voice sound raspier, "I'll be fine. Sorry about that."
"No worries," he flashed me a smile.
Louella lifted up the small bag in her hand and cleared her throat. Her hands were pale but where her sleeve had lifted up, there laid red scratches. I froze - just about to tip the glass of water down my throat and fixated on the marks before she followed my line of vision and quickly tugged her sleeve down to cover it. She refused to meet my probing eyes but a heavy feeling settled on my chest.
"Happy birthday, Milo," she murmured and offered him the gift bag. His face lit up and he grabbed it off her - moving back to the living room to open it up after shouting a quick "thank you."
Louella and I lingered in the hallway for a few moments and a silence engulfed the both of us. It was strange that neither of us could seem to find the right words to say anymore and I wondered if the year apart would further squash the wedge between us.
"Do you want me to heat some of the food?" I asked, unsure of what else to say to her, "We have a lot left over so it'd be a shame to have to throw it out."
"No thank you," she offered me a minuscule smile, "I ate before I came. I can't stay long, I just wanted to drop off Milo's present."
"You can't?" I couldn't hide the disappointment in my voice and it didn't go amiss by Louella. Even she couldn't stop her lips from twitching upwards.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, "My parents are waiting outside so I can't stay too long."
"Oh," my voice dropped even more. The hope that I would get to spend more time with her quickly diminished but she offered me a shy smile that reminded me of a flower that was peeking out of the meadow in the middle of a storm.
"It was nice seeing you again, Étienne," she murmured and shuffled closer to the door. Milo was still inside and even though I called his name, there was no response. I frowned and went to go and grab him but Louella shook her head and shot out her hand to grab my arm. Surprised, I froze mid-step and glanced down at her small hand that tugged at the sleeve of my top. Even she looked startled and quickly retracted her grip.
"Sorry," she coughed and wiped at her eyes, "I should get going before my parents come up to the door."
In the blink of an eye, she turned around and wrapped her hand around the door handle. Panicked and not wanting her to leave, I called out her name in desperation.
"Louella!"
She froze just as the door swung open and the gust of wind blew in. She winced at the sudden force but turned her head back an inch; the wind blowing her hair into a tousled mane. Moonlight travelled through the night with graceful ease, lightening the rising path in front of her. Under a sky of perfect midnight velvet, the stars shone so brilliantly, they drew the eyes heaven bound.
"I um. . . I'm glad you came," I said pathetically and blushed at the stupidity of my words but anything to get to keep her close for a few more seconds was worth it. Louella's face softened and gone was the hardened and defensive stare replaced by a warm and soft one - one that reminded me of the old Louella.
"I've missed you, Étienne. It's nice to have you back."
And like a shadow that disappeared in the sun, she slipped out the door without letting me respond and the wet droplets on the ground being the only reminder that she was ever here.
****